Top 25 Football Roundup
Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 17, 2011
Associated Press
The Top 25 roundup …
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó Marcus Lattimore ran for a career-high 246 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 10 South Carolina hang on for a 24-21 victory over Navy on Saturday.
Lattimore carried 37 times and averaged 6.6 yards a carry. The Gamecocks (3-0) ran 37 plays in the second half, and the sophomore touched the ball on 26 of them.
The Midshipmen (2-1) ran their option efficiently, rushing for 274 yards split among seven players.
After Lattimore was stopped for a loss for the first time in the game on a fourth down, Navy got the ball at its 6-yard line with 5:34 left. But Antonio Allen picked off a fourth down pass with a minute to go to seal the Gamecocks win.
Quarterback Stephen Garcia again appeared to have an off night, overthrowing several receivers and making a bad decision by throwing the ball as he got hit that led to an interception on South Carolina’s first possession of the third quarter.
Spurrier then turned the game over to his star running back. Lattimore touched the ball on 41 of his team’s 69 plays. He also caught four passes for 25 yards.
Lattimore’s 246 yards rank fourth in South Carolina history, and it’s most yards a running back has ever gained for a Spurrier-coached team.
With the Gamecocks trailing 21-17 late in the third quarter, Spurrier kept giving the ball to Lattimore. He never ran the ball more than 10 yards and touched it 11 times on a 15-yard drive that ended with his 7-yard run that put South Carolina ahead 24-21.
No. 2 Alabama 41, North Texas 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ó Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy each had two long touchdown runs and career rushing highs and No. 2 Alabama’s defense smothered North Texas.
Richardson scored three times ó including a 58-yarder and a career-long 71-yarder ó and had most of his 167 yards on the two long ones to help the Crimson Tide (3-0) race into its showdown with No. 14 Arkansas.
No. 7 Wisconsin 49, Northern Illinois 7
CHICAGO ó Russell Wilson threw for 347 yards and three scores, Montee Ball rushed for another two TDs and the Badgers (3-0) piled up more than 600 yards in the game at Soldier Field.
No. 9 Texas A&M 37, Idaho 7
COLLEGE STATION, Texas ó Cyrus Gray had three touchdowns and 101 yards rushing, Ryan Tannehill threw for 337 yards and two scores in less than three quarters and No. 9 Texas A&M shook off a sloppy start for a 37-7 win No. 11 Nebraska 51, Washington 38
LINCOLN, Neb. ó Taylor Martinez threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third to lead the Cornhuskers (3-0).
Martinez looked to have put away the Huskies with his 6-yard TD run, but Keith Price passed 52 yards to James Johnson for his fourth TD toss to make it a 13-point game with 4:27 left.
No. 12 Oregon 56, Missouri State 7
EUGENE, Ore. ó LaMichael James ran for 204 yards and three touchdowns, including a 90-yarder, and the Ducks (2-1) cruised.
No. 14 Arkansas 38, Troy 28
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ó Ronnie Wingo rushed for a career-high 110 yards and scored 3 touchdowns as No. 14 Arkansas defeated Troy 38-28 on Saturday night.
Wingo had touchdown runs of 22 and 21 yards and also caught a 6-yard touchdown pass for the Razorbacks (3-0), who were outgained by the Trojans 457-454 in total offense.
Tyler Wilson remained perfect as the starter at quarterback for Arkansas, which travels to No. 2 Alabama next week. Wilson finished 23 of 36 passing for 303 yards.
Notre Dame 31, No. 15 Michigan State 13
SOUTH BEND, Ind. ó Cierre Wood ran for two touchdowns, freshman George Atkinson III returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score and Robert Blanton had a late interception for the Irish (1-2).
The Spartans (2-1) were led by Kirk Cousins, who was 34 of 53 for 329 yards with one TD and one interception. Tommy Rees was 187 of 26 for 161 yards with a TD and an interception.
No. 16 Florida 33, Tennessee 23
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Chris Rainey had 233 total yards, including an 83-yard touchdown catch, and the Gators extended two decades of dominance in the SEC series.
Florida has won 16 of 22 since the Eastern Division teams started playing annually in 1990.
No. 18 West Virginia 37, Maryland 31
COLLEGE PARK, Md. ó Geno Smith threw for a career-high 388 yards, and the Mountaineers (3-0) withstood a furious comeback.
No. 19 Baylor 48, Stephen F. Austin 0
WACO, Texas ó In their first home game as a ranked team since November 1991, the Baylor Bears treated their fans to another dazzling performance by Robert Griffin III and a rare shutout from the defense.
Griffin was 20 of 22 for 247 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 78 yards.
No. 20 South Florida 70, Florida A&M 17
TAMPA, Fla. ó B.J. Daniels threw for a career-high 382 yards and four touchdowns, pacing No. 20 South Florida’s 70-17 rout of Florida A&M on Saturday night.
A week after throwing for 359 yards but just one TD in a 30-point victory over Ball State, Daniels led the Bulls (3-0) to touchdowns on eight of 10 drives he directed before leaving the game for good in the third quarter. The redshirt junior who grew up near the FAMU campus in Tallahassee completed 21 of 33 passes and also scored on a 5-yard run.
No. 23 Texas 49, UCLA 20
PASADENA, Calif. ó Case McCoy passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns, D.J. Grant made his first three career TD catches, and the Longhorns (3-0) avenged last season’s stunning home loss to the Bruins (1-2).
Illinois 17, No. 22 Arizona State 14
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ó Nathan Scheelhaase threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Jenkins with less than 10 minutes left, and Illinois sacked Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler six times in a 17-14 win over the No. 22 Sun Devils.
Scheelhaase was 11 of 15 for 135 yards for Illinois (3-0).
No. 23 TCU 38, Louisiana-Monroe 17
FORT WORTH, Texas ó Greg McCoy returned the second-half kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown for the Horned Frogs.